A public adjuster recently asked me a very practical question: If a Maine policyholder calls a public adjuster within 36 hours of a fire, storm, or other loss and says, “I want to hire you,” can the public adjuster sign the contract?
My answer is no, at least not safely. The public adjuster can talk with the policyholder. The public adjuster can explain what public adjusters do. The public adjuster can give general guidance about documenting the loss, preserving evidence, mitigating damages, and understanding the claims process. But the public adjuster should not offer, email, hand over, DocuSign, or execute the public adjusting contract until the 36-hour waiting period expires.
Maine’s statute currently says that an adjuster seeking to provide adjusting services to an insured for a fee paid by the insured “may not offer an adjustment services contract” for at least 36 hours after the accident or occurrence giving rise to the potential claim. The current statute does not say only that the public adjuster may not cold-call, door-knock, or solicit the policyholder. It says the adjuster may not offer the contract.
This distinction became especially important after National Fire Adjustment Co. v. Cioppa. 1 In that case, the federal court in Maine held that the state could not enforce the portion of the old statute prohibiting public adjuster solicitation during the first 36 hours after a loss. The court recognized that public adjuster communications are protected commercial speech. The ruling followed other important public adjuster free-speech cases which struck down broad waiting-period restrictions on truthful public adjuster solicitation. I previously wrote about a Florida case in Public Adjusters Win Free Speech Rights and Ability to Promptly Help Policyholders.
The Maine court did not throw out the entire 36-hour rule. It drew a line. The prohibition against solicitation was unconstitutional. The delay on offering the contract survived.
The Maine Bureau of Insurance then issued Bulletin 433, which is the practical document every public adjuster handling Maine claims should read. The bulletin explains that, because of the federal court ruling, public adjusters are permitted to contact and explain their services to insureds after a loss without regard to the 36-hour time limit. Significantly, the bulletin states that adjusters must still wait at least 36 hours before offering an adjustment services contract.
The bulletin is important because it tells public adjusters exactly how the Maine insurance regulator views the law. It is also a reminder that constitutional litigation and licensing enforcement do not always travel in the same lane. A public adjuster may have a philosophical, legal, or practical argument that a policyholder who initiates contact should be allowed to sign a contract immediately. I understand that argument. I agree with the common sense behind it. If a policyholder asks for help, why should the law stop that policyholder from hiring the professional of choice? Public adjusters can start right away helping with the policyholder’s duties after loss.
The problem is that the statute and the bulletin point the other way. Maine’s Bureau of Insurance has said public adjusters may speak, but they must wait to offer the contract. This means a public adjuster who signs the contract inside the 36-hour window is not merely taking an academic position. The public adjuster is inviting a licensing complaint that seems to be breaking the law.
Some may argue that if the policyholder calls first, the public adjuster is not “offering” anything. They may argue that the policyholder is making the offer, and the public adjuster is simply accepting. While that is a clever contract law argument, it is not the advice I would give to a licensed public adjuster trying to stay out of trouble. Regulators are unlikely to be impressed by legal gymnastics when the adjuster’s own engagement agreement is placed before the policyholder during the prohibited period.
The better practice is to answer the call. Help the policyholder understand the claims process. Explain that Maine law allows you to discuss your services but does not allow you to offer or sign the public adjusting contract until 36 hours after the loss. Then calendar the deadline and follow up when the waiting period expires.
This is not just about avoiding trouble. It is about professionalism. Public adjusters should be disciplined professionals who know the licensing rules of the states in which they operate. The best public adjusters do not need to cut corners. They win trust by being knowledgeable, transparent, and careful.
There is also a larger policy issue here. Insurance companies can often have trained representatives, vendors, consultants, and adjusters involved very quickly after a loss. Policyholders may be standing in front of a burned building, a flooded business, or a damaged home with no idea what to do next. Telling public adjusters they cannot speak to those policyholders would be wrong and harmful. This is why the First Amendment decision matters.
So, the Maine rule after the court decision and Bulletin 433 is this: A public adjuster can talk, educate, explain, and be helpful. But do not offer or sign the public adjusting contract before the 36 hours are up.
There are enough battles in the insurance claims world. Do not create an unnecessary one with the Maine licensing department over a clock.
Thought For The Day
“If I wished to see a mountain or other scenery under the most favorable auspices, I would go to it in foul weather, so as to be there when it cleared up; we are then in the most suitable mood, and nature is most fresh and inspiring.”
—Henry David Thoreau, The Maine Woods
1 National Fire Adjustment Co. v. Cioppa, No. 1:18-cv-00008 (D. Maine Jan 8, 2018).